


repairs take time (but they're worth the wait)

by pseudoanalytics



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Cadets, Domestic Fluff, Found Family, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Married Couple, Post-Movie: Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), Post-Recovery Newt, the era of angst is over and it's time for the fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 03:53:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14347437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pseudoanalytics/pseuds/pseudoanalytics
Summary: Newt is sitting on the tabletop, surrounded by the teen rangers. Both his sleeves and pant legs are rolled up as high as they can go. "And this one is obviously Onibaba. I've got Otachi on the back of my upper thigh here, but that one's for my fiancé's eyes only."Amara squints at Trespasser. "Which one hurt the worst?""Hmm," Newt thinks aloud, "Underarms really sucked. So did the back of my knees and my spine. Actually, the spine sucked more because I was in the chair for eight hours and I couldn't sleep comfortably for like, a month.""So why... why the kaiju?" asks Suresh, and they all go quiet.-----or alternatively, sometimes a family is two scientists and thirteen rangers





	repairs take time (but they're worth the wait)

**Author's Note:**

> friendship ended with "newt recovery angst"
> 
> now "happy family dynamics" are my best friends

"It's kinda cool if you think about it," Newt says. "I mean, every time we have sex it's technically an orgy."

Hermann grinds his teeth. "Newton, _please_ stop talking."

"No, seriously," Newt continues, making Hermann think he must not be doing something right if this conversation is still taking place. "It's you, me, and the Precursors bouncing around in there somewhere. Dude, you're helping me teach an alien civilization what sex is. This is basically the greatest trans-species informational exchange in _history_."

For some reason, this is exactly what makes Newt come, and Hermann hates himself a little when he does too.

An afterglow doesn't exist when one is having sex with Newton Geiszler, but Hermann has accepted this from the beginning. They drop next to each other on the bed, neither caring enough about personal hygiene to get up and wipe themselves down.

"They don't really get it yet," Newt continues, somehow ignoring the fact that Hermann just wants to sleep. "I don't think sexual reproduction makes sense as a concept to them. Of course, this isn't reproduction, per say, because we aren't reproducing." He pauses to pull off his glasses. Hermann can see how fogged up they are; the only clear spots are where Newt's eyelashes brush the lenses as he blinks. "Maybe they're confused by the idea of doing something _only_ for pleasure and not purpose."

"Newton, would you please be quiet for the _purpose_ of letting us sleep and for the _pleasure_ of getting some rest."

Newt snorts and flops his limbs out to occupy the entire mattress. Hermann shuffles alongside him, carelessly laying on the arm and leg in his way. With a little laugh, Newt complains about dead arm, and Hermann tries to make himself as heavy as possible.

They lay in silence until Newt starts to drop off in exhaustion. Surprisingly, it's actually Hermann who speaks this time. "Newt," he says in that sappy voice he always gets when he uses the right nickname, "tomorrow is when you requested my assistance with your mystery project, correct?"

Newt lightly punches him in the side. "Yeah, man. I think. If it arrives. No work talk in bed. I'm dead on my feet."

Hermann shuts his mouth on a retort that Newt is neither on his feet nor dead. After the past few months, it feels a bit too close to home. "Goodnight," he says instead, and he feels the scratch of Newt's smile on his shoulder in reply.

 

* * *

 

"Morning, rangers," Nate says sternly. His arms are crossed, and he paces back and forth in front of their lineup. He keeps glancing toward the bunkers, and the rangers all suppress snickers. "Something funny?" he asks, and they all shake their heads. "I said. Is there something funny?"

"No, sir, ranger, sir," Amara cracks out, but then Jinhai lets a squeak of a laugh out and they all lose it.

Nate rubs his hand over his face. It was so much easier to keep them in line before Tokyo. He glances back at the bunkers again, and this time the door opens and Jake comes jogging out.

"Morning!" Jake says. He plants a wet, squeaky kiss on Nate's face just to embarrass him. "What's the plan for today?"

The cadets all snicker and giggle behind their hands.

"Jake..." Nate gives up before he can begin, wiping his face and quickly switching to outlining the morning exercise warmup. "As always, Suresh, replace leg-based work with pullups." The ranger nods emphatically, swaying on his crutches. Nate is just about to send them off when a tall man in khakis walks up.

"Hello, sorry to interrupt. I have a delivery here for a Dr. G?"

"Gottlieb? Yeah. I'll sign for it." Nate scribbles his name on the form and passes it back. The delivery man smiles and thanks him before leaving a large package and hopping back into his go-cart. Nate clears his throat. "Amara? It's your lucky day. No warmups for you. Run this package down to Gottlieb in the lab. And be careful. God knows what's in there."

Amara snaps off a "yes sir" and reaches for the box. It's heavy, and she stumbles briefly before finding her balance.

"Got it, Small-y?" Jake asks, helping her right herself.

Amara scowls. "I got it."

Jinhai looks at her enviously. "Consider yourself lucky," he whispers. "Everyone loves Dr. Gottlieb. He's really nice and fun to talk to. Totally chill."

Amara struggles to nod. She refuses to drop the box on her toes in front of everyone else, so she gives a little hop to get a better grip and limps off toward the elevator. She can hear the other rangers heckling her as she goes until Nate whistles shrilly and everyone but Suresh takes off on their sprints.

She balances the package on the handrail in the elevator cab as she descends. She's only seen Gottlieb briefly, during the afterparty and then a few times when he was on his way to the detention center. He's basically the only person still on good terms with the guy who tried to kill everyone. Newt. Though now that they're apparently trying to prove that the Precursors have hardly any control over him, she supposes they'll be required to see him around again. The guy is supposedly a genius and was an expert on kaiju even _before_ he got all possessed drifting with one. They'll need him if they're going to find and attack the Precursors.

The elevator clunks to a stop, and the doors hiss open. At first, she almost shuts them and heads back up. There is the distinct sound of a loud, heated argument in the lab, and Amara starts to think that Jinhai has gotten her _again_. Nice and fun to talk to, her _ass_. She regularly drifts with the guy, and she still can't tell when he's pulling her leg.

"Absolutely _not_ ," snaps an angry voice with a British accent.

Amara slides into the lab doorway and sees a man who looks the exact opposite of "chill."

Dr. Gottlieb is pinching his nose with one hand and squeezing a pair of wire-rimmed glasses with the other. His wide mouth is curled in frustration, and a near permanent indent is forming between his eyebrows. The source of his frustration is the last person Amara expected to see in such a casual situation.

Newt is squatting under an odd-looking, half-finished machine. There is grease streaked across his face and his white shirt. He looks so different from his slicked hair, three-piece suit self, that Amara has to rely on his distinctive voice to fully recognize him.

"Oh, right. And you've got a _better_ idea, Hermann? This doesn't affect you like it does me! This is my risk! My choice!" 

"All it indicates, _Newton_ , is a complete disregard for your own life and a dangerous propensity for hooking your brain up to dubiously constructed machines composed entirely of trash!"

They both freeze when Amara struggles into view, box digging into her ribcage. "Hey," she says awkwardly. "Delivery for Dr. Gottlieb?"

The man in question stiffens in his chair and shoots Newt such a poisonous look that Amara is shocked he doesn't feel some sort of physical repercussion. "That's not mine," he grits out, and yeah, Amara is never running errands to the lab again.

"Uh huh, I think I ordered that under 'Dr. G,' because that's definitely mine." Newt grunts as he stands up, wiping his hands off on his skinny jeans and straightening the most old-fashioned pair of hipster glasses Amara has ever had the misfortune to see in-person. 

"Newton, you can't take that."

"Well, I am. So you really can't stop me."

Gottlieb lurches up from his chair and bodily grabs Newt's shoulders. "Why can you not understand—"

Amara shifts uncomfortably. "Can I... Is there somewhere you want me to put this?"

"Take it back up," Gottlieb says at the same time Newt says, "Drop it over there by that hunk of metal."

She rolls her eyes in frustration.

Hermann squeezes Newt's shoulders tighter, and they're both yelling at top volume, Newt's squeaky voice echoing shrilly in the enclosed space.

"Newton, why can't you think things through for once in your life—"

"Hermann, why can't you just trust me—" 

"I _cannot_ lose you again!" Hermann shouts, and the lab goes still. "Good _god_ , man. I can't let anything like... like _that_ , happen again, Newt, I cannot."

Newt blinks at him. Then gives a soft laugh and a what-can-you-do kind of shrug. He pulls away from Hermann and takes the box from Amara. "Thanks," he says to her, almost as an afterthought, starting to heft it over toward his machine.

Amara watches Gottlieb's face shift through a multitude of emotions before settling on pure fury. She jogs to the elevator and punches the button for sea level before they can get back into it again.

 

* * *

 

Hermann finally drops his full weight into his chair, making it creak briefly. "Fine, Newton. I'll help you fry your brain again."

Newt pumps a greasy fist in the air. "Yes, thank you, dude."

"There's a perfectly acceptable EEG machine fourteen miles inland, but I'll help hook you into this garbage knockoff."

"Hermann," Newt says softly, and he spins to look at him. "Seriously. Thank you."

Hermann gets it. He really does. With the destruction of Alice, the Precursors are now no more than annoying impulses in the back of Newt's mind. They're particularly extraterrestrial intrusive thoughts, and as far as Newt is concerned, he's cured and ready to atone for his sins.

Of course, no one but Hermann would be foolish enough to take his word for it, so an EEG is Newt's solution. A clean, or at least drastically reduced, activity result would go a long way in getting him cleared for PPDC work again. Of course, they won't let him off premises to have his brain scanned in a _real_ medical machine, so he has been ordering bootleg parts under the ambiguous name of "Dr. G" in an attempt to get his purchases cleared.

Hermann knows Newt _understands_ the general mistrust, but he also knows Newt hates having his hands tied to the point where he can't even help try to make up for his admittedly terrible mistakes.

"If I notice anything out of the ordinary, I reserve the right to pull you out and smash your creation," Hermann snaps, and Newt kisses him instead of thanking him again.

"I hate when we fight," Newt sighs, which is hilarious since their entire relationship has always been founded on mutual mockery and falsified hatred.

"I hate watching you hook yourself up to suspicious electronics."

"Wanna hook up with me in a different way tonight?"

Hermann rolls his eyes but can't stop the side of his mouth from ticking up in a smile.

"Aw," Newt snorts. "Look at that. You've turned into an old softie in these last ten years."

With a long-suffering groan, Hermann grabs a handful of Newt's hair and pulls him onto the ground. He ignores the waggling eyebrows and starts smearing gel on Newt's scalp to stick the electrodes.

Newt hums like it feels nice, and Hermann knees him in the ribs.

"What? Your hands feel good. It's like a cold, sticky head massage."

The good mood is broken half an hour later when Newt actually climbs into his machine and Hermann stares at the activation panel.

He reaches for the start switch a few times before the hand on his cane shakes too badly and he has to sit down. "Newton, I can't do this," he breathes.

"What? No, dude! You've got this, come on. Throw the switch, turn the key. Super simple."

Hermann isn't thinking about it being simple. He's thinking about Newt seizing on the ground after an electrical surge travels straight into his brain. He stretches to reach for the switch again, then slams his hands into his lap. "I can't. You're going to have to ask someone else."

Newt crawls carefully out, trying not to pull the electrode lines glued to his head. "Hermann," he says softly. "Hermann, I don't have anyone else."

Hermann looks into Newt's eyes, one green and one still red.

Newt smiles weakly. "You trust me, right?" 

Hermann nods.

"I know how to build this shit, okay? I didn't build myself an electric death machine. This doesn't link my mind to anyone else's. It's just me and my brain waves. Totally safe."

"EEGs are known to cause seizures."

"Which are like, actually super helpful. You get some great readings if you seize in the middle." Newt looks at Hermann's face and sees something that makes him backtrack. "I won't though. Probably. Almost certainly." He stumbles back inside his contraption. "You're gonna rock this, my man. Throw that switch like it's chalk at my head."

Hermann huffs a nervous laugh and flicks the switch. Then before he can overthink it, he turns the key and the EEG machine starts running. He sits silently in the dark, watching the lights flash and just trying to breathe.

 

* * *

 

When the rangers' lunch break comes, Amara corners Jinhai.

"Very funny," she scoffs. "Dr. Gottlieb was so _not_ the nicest man I've ever had to deliver a heavy box to." 

He gives her an odd look, which isn't fair because this is _his_ joke, so he should know what she's talking about.

Viktoriya peers around Jinhai's shoulder. "What are you complaining about now?"

"Jinhai told me Dr. Gottlieb was some sort of super sweet, nice man."

Vik jerks her head back and raises an eyebrow. "That's because he is. Everyone loves him."

"He looks like he hasn't smiled in a hundred years, and all he does is yell!"

Suresh and Ilya are clearly eavesdropping into the conversation. Ilya is holding both of their lunch trays, awkwardly spooning mashed potatoes onto one when Suresh nods at the container.

"Are you sure you really delivered it to Dr. Gottlieb?" Ilya asks.

Amara nods. "Yeah. I mean, I actually gave it to Newt, but Gottlieb was there, yelling at him."

"I've never heard Gottlieb raise his voice. Like, ever," says Suresh.

Then as if on cue, the sound of raised voices drifts in from the mess hall doorway. Amara punches both Vik and Jinhai's arms self-righteously.

"It _totally_ worked! Just like I told you it would," shouts a shrill voice that can only belong to Newt.

The room goes still. Newt has been a ghost, flitting silently around the shatterdome in shame. The few times he _has_ appeared, he's moved as quickly as possible, rushing to leave the area. Now he clomps down the hallway, volume at one hundred percent. 

"I mean, you _killed it_ , Hermann. You showed that machine how to flip a switch. You're becoming a real rebel!" 

"I have _always_ been a rebel, Newton. Just because I don't wear skinny ties and equally skinny jeans doesn't mean I dress any closer to societal norms than you do. And I'll remind you about _exactly_ what I said to my father when he tried to recruit me to the Wall of Life effort."

"Shit, that's like... actually pretty hot..."

"Newton—"

The two scientists march into the mess hall, and the spoonful of potatoes on Ilya's spoon plops onto the serving counter unnoticed.

"Is _that_ Newt?" Suresh whispers nervously. "He looks so different." 

"Does he know how to use hairgel?" Tahima mutters, looking at the spiky mess of stiff peaks and bald spots covering his head.

"More importantly, is that Dr. Gottlieb?" asks Renata.

Amara gives them all a smug look, and she totally sees Vik smile before she turns away.

"Boom. Alien-free," Newt declares, slapping a piece of paper into the middle of Mako Mori's lunch tray.

Raleigh raises an eyebrow, but Mako must silently communicate something to him, because he picks up his spoon and continues eating.

"What is this?" she asks.

"That," says Newt, "is my squeaky clean EEG. This little squiggle here is all that's left of the Precursors, and it's definitely in acceptable ranges."

Mako nods slowly, staring at the graph. "And what do you expect to come of this?" She speaks slowly, carefully, and Newt seems to remember how close she came to death as a result of his jaeger. 

"Uh... Shit. Well, I was hoping I could be put back on staff. Get started on the whole 'bring the fight to the Precursors' thing your brother kept telling me about."

Mako folds the result sheet and tucks it into her pocket. "I'll see what I can do."

"Yeah. Thanks, Mako. That'd be great." Newt rocks back on his heels and seems to suddenly notice everyone staring at him. "What're you all looking at?" he snaps. Then he spins around and walks as quickly as he can out of the mess hall.

Hermann sighs and starts to leave until Raleigh stops him.

"Doctor. Come sit down."

Hermann does, and the conversation around them picks up a little. The cadets — no, Gottlieb; they're rangers now — continue dishing themselves food.

Mako gives him a smile and pushes some of her beans and potatoes toward him. He tries to politely turn her down, but she won't have it. They both wait until he's taken a bite before Raleigh continues.

"You're closer to him than anyone. What do you think? Think he's safe?"

Hermann struggles to swallow the dry food, and Raleigh passes him his cup of water. He's briefly embarrassed by their generosity, but Hermann takes a sip anyway. "If you think I didn't check and triple-check that EEG machine before I let him hook himself up to it, you would be doing me a great disservice." 

"I don't doubt the accuracy of the results, Dr. Gottlieb," Mako says. "It's his overall condition I'm asking about."

Raleigh nods. "You've drifted with him. You've shared a lab for years. Is it safe for us to let him back in?" 

There's a pause as Hermann thinks. He pushes the food around on his plate, contemplating his reply. "I think... I think he's safe. But I also know that's not the real problem here. The problem is whether or not he _deserves_ the second-chance."

Raleigh nods. There's blatant pity on his face. 

"On the one hand," continues Hermann, "it wasn't Newton who planned the destruction of our planet. But on the other hand, he was the one who made the careless mistakes that led to his possession to begin with." Hermann is of course speaking of the third drift. The one no one else knew about. The one that led to the fourth, and the fifth, and on and on and on. 

Everything had been going so well after the Breach was sealed.

Humanity was at a high point regarding international relations. Worldwide conservation efforts were in full effect to combat the destruction Kaiju Blue had wrought. The jaeger program had begun again, bringing on new cadets to help maintain order and protect against future attack. 

It had all seemed so perfect. 

Hermann had been happy.

He and Newt had been happy, or at least he'd thought. They had been even closer post-drift, and Hermann had really believed... He'd almost asked him to...

Then Newt had started slipping away.

They'd gotten together, become a _thing_ , as Tendo had so elegantly put it. And then Hermann had started losing him.

He'd thought he could pull it back together, but then he went down to the lab one morning and found half of it empty, cleared out overnight.

Newt hadn't left so much as a note to say he'd taken the job at Shao Industries. He _had_ left his glasses behind though. They'd slipped down between Hermann's nightstand and bed, and he couldn't stop looking at them.

When had Newt switched to contact lenses? He had always told Hermann he hated even the idea of them.

"Gross, dude. The only eyeballs I wanna be touching are kaiju ones. Like the optometrist _really_ thinks I'd be fine just touching my own cornea? While I can't _see_ too? That's ridiculous."

Hermann knows now. Knows Newt had Baby Otachi's brain harvested and shipped back to him. He knows Newt got curious one night. He'd wondered what a hivemind would connect to if the Breach was sealed shut.

Hermann also knows Newt had found out. 

"Doctor?" Mako murmurs. She tilts her head to look Hermann in eye. He realizes he's been staring into his beans for far too long.

"I can officially declare Newton to be safe to work with. I cannot, however, speak for how that will affect everyone else in the shatterdome."

He receives two nods in reply and can't help but feel like he's passed some sort of test.

"Newt seemed pretty upset when he left," Raleigh says. "You might want to go check on him."

Hermann nods. "Thank you for the food." Then he heads for the lab.

 

* * *

 

Suresh is three weeks off his crutches, but his endurance is basically shot.

"No, keep going," he rasps to Ilya as they run laps through the shatterdome. "Keep going." He can't let his drift partner lose stamina just because he can't keep up right now.

Ilya sets his jaw and nods, speeding up to follow the others.

Hand on his ribs, Suresh pants and stumbles to lean against the wall. His knees shake, and he gives in to the temptation to slide down onto the floor.

He's leaning there, eyes closed and lungs heaving, when someone taking the corner too fast almost trips over him. 

"Oh shit! Fuck," the person swears, spilling coffee down the front of themselves. "Goddamnit."

It's Newt, or rather, Dr. Geiszler, Suresh supposes, and he feels that brief flare of anxiety at the sight of him. It helps that this version of Newt looks nothing like the one Suresh knew. 

This Newt is softer, nerdier. Actually approachable.

He swallows and starts to apologize for sitting in the way, but Newt is setting down the two mugs he was holding in favor of checking to make sure Suresh is alright.

"You good, dude? Didn't see you there. Wasn't paying attention. Totally my fault."

"I'm fine. Sorry about your coffee." 

Newt looks down at himself as if surprised to see his white shirt soaked brown. "It's all good. I've got more where this came from."

Suresh nods, frozen. He can see the tattoos through the shirt now. _They go all the way to his stomach_ , he thinks in surprise.

Newt notices him staring and pulls the damp fabric away to hide them. He rolls his sleeves down too, glancing nervously away and back again. They sit and crouch there awkwardly until Newt finally asks him what he's doing. 

"Trying to run laps," Suresh groans miserably. "I can't keep up anymore though. It's embarrassing."

Newt holds out a hand to hoist him up. "Yeah. I've seen you, uh, on the crutches, right? Sorry about that too."

Suresh automatically says it's okay and that it's not Newt's fault, but then they both freeze up again, aware that it vaguely is.

"Well. Um. Good luck. See you around." Newt scoops up his two half full coffee mugs and jogs off, leaving wet footprints as he goes.

Suresh kinda feels bad for him.

 

* * *

 

This time when the package arrives, Amara volunteers. She knows she deserves Vik's disbelieving stare, but she can't deny she's curious.

Also she thinks Jake and Nate had a fight last night, because they're making the rangers run extra laps and she really doesn't want to.

Jake also gives her a look, but he's busy trying to extend an olive branch to Nate, who looks like he hasn't slept in a week. In the end, they let her go.

The box is much smaller and lighter this time, and it's also addressed directly to Dr. Gottlieb.

She takes the elevator down, down, down and wonders what they'll be up to when she gets there. As she hoped, they're arguing again, though there's less tension than the last time she came down.

"I mean you could at least _think_ about it," Newt shouts over a loud, mechanical whirring.

"I've told you a hundred times, I'm not interested in the slightest!" Gottlieb snaps back.

"Okay, first of all, exaggeration. You're the numbers guy. You _hate it_ when I inflate figures to suit my argumentative needs. Second... Second? Secondly? On the second hand? In addition, I _know_ you've thought about it, because I remember hearing it in the drift!" 

"Oh for... Newton, we drifted one time! How do you even remember—"

"Ghost drift, my man."

"Lies."

"Look, it doesn't matter _how_ I know. But I do. Now tell me, what were you considering getting permanently tattooed on your outrageously hot body?"

Amara stifles a snort and fake retch, trying to stay hidden in the junk by the doorway.

"I... I don't remember." 

"Okay, Hermann, _now_ who's the liar. Were they words? They better not have been words."

"They weren't, but why couldn't they be?"

"Ha! You do remember! And because if you want words on your body, that's what a Sharpie is for. There are no words you're gonna want permanently on your body for the rest of your life."

"Yet kaiju are perfectly acceptable."

"They're an art piece and my field of study. What were you going to get?"

Amara spares Dr. Gottlieb by stepping forward with the box. "Delivery?"

"Hey! Look at that!" Newt hops down off the table he's sitting on to watch Hermann work. "Now I can stop using the Bunsen burner." He grabs a pair of scissors and rips into the box, yanking out a bright red toaster. "Hey, Hermann. Why'd you order red?" 

"So you don't lose it."

"Okay..." Newt shrugs and goes to plug it in. "Toast is gonna go great with my curry."

Dr. Gottlieb snorts from his perch up high on a ladder. "And you can finally take that out from under the fumigation hood, as I once again remind you that that is _not_ its intended purpose." 

Newt flaps a hand mockingly open and shut to mimic Hermann's mouth. "Thanks. It's Amara, right?" 

"Yep. Dr. Geiszler, right?" 

He smiles crookedly, much like his glasses. "Please, call me Newt. Only my mother calls me doctor." 

"That was only funny the first time, Newton," Hermann calls down. "And honestly not even then."

Amara shakes her head in amusement. "You guys are weird. And really, everyone calls you Newt anyway."

He looks surprised. "Really? I started going by Newton when... you know. Who kept the 'Newt' thing up?"

Amara jerks her chin toward Hermann. "I guess that's what _he_ always called you."

The chalk snaps against the blackboard and half of it falls and shatters on the floor with a little click.

Amara walks backward toward the door. Dr. Gottlieb's ears are turning red, and Newt looks absolutely giddy with the new ammo Amara's given him. She shakes her head and hops into the elevator.

The moment the doors shut on her, Newt pounces.

"You called me Newt in front of the whole shatterdome? I _knew_ you liked me!"

" _Liked_ you?" Hermann hisses, a whole lot angrier than Newt expected him to be. He's suddenly afraid he's missed something huge.

"Hermann? Did I miss like, a _massive_ social cue?"

"Newt, of _course_ I liked you! I was... I..."

"Take your time."

Hermann slides down his ladder in that smooth way that speaks of years of practice. "Newt. I was going to _propose_ to you." He says it so stiffly. Like he's expecting Newt to backhand him or something.

Instead Newt feels like _he_ was the one who got slapped, and he stares at Hermann's increasingly red ears, trying to process. "You— you were?"

"Yes! I thought we were... a _thing_ or whatever Tendo called us."

Newt looks at him sharply. "Wait. Are we not a thing right now? Because I mean, we've been sleeping together again. And like, _sleeping together_ again, so I kinda thought..."

Hermann blinks. "I was hoping we were. Are."

"Cool. Same. But um. Yeah. Wow. You were really going to propose to me?"

"We'd known each other for _years_ ," Hermann says testily. "And we finally figured it all out the night the Breach was closed. So I figured if we'd survived each other all that time in our labs, we could definitely—"

"Okay, new question. Is that offer still open?" Newt freezes and backpedals. "I mean, I understand if not, because like, I've had a really rough decade, and I kinda did a _lot_ of fucked up shit. So it's perfectly fine if it's no longer on the table, but—"

Hermann grabs his cane and walks over where he can clap a hand on Newt's shoulder. It sets off a little puff of chalk dust that he has to blink away. "Must you ruin everything I plan? I was going to ask you at a much better time. Preferably outside somewhere nice and scenic."

Newt laughs but it's shaky and nervous. "Dude..." 

They lock eyes. Then very carefully, Hermann leans his cane against the table next to Newt and eases to the ground. Newt suddenly can't breathe, but for once it's in a good way, but he's also terrified too. Terrified that this is all an elaborate joke or prank even though that's the least Hermann thing _ever_ , but this doesn't make sense to him and holy _fuck_ why is time moving so _slowly_. He just knows seconds don't usually last this long normally.

"Dr. Newt Geiszler," Hermann says, and Newt almost corrects him for saying "Dr." but he also said "Newt" so he gets a pass this time. "Will you m— _Shit!_ "

The toaster pops behind Newt and they both jolt. Hermann loses his balance and tips onto his side, and Newt jerks backward and nails his tailbone on the desk. They go down swearing violently in a mixture of languages, starting angry and moving to hysterical laughter.

"Oh my god, dude," Newt gasps. "Your _face!_ And you said ' _shit!_ ' Oh my _god_."

Hermann is stretched out on his back to avoid leaning on his other hip, and his eyes are squished shut and his mouth is stretched in a huge grin and he pants for air between laughs as well. "I _do_ swear, Newton. And _your_ face was just as priceless. Now Newt, _please_. Before the fumigation hood explodes or a chalkboard falls on us, will you marry me?"

"Jeez, Hermann. _Yes!_  Yes, I will. Oh my god."

They continue laughing until their stomachs hurt, and they can't even stand up to get the toast.

 

* * *

 

Jinhai is the first one to notice.

"Gottlieb didn't come to get food this morning, and he hasn't come in at all for lunch either," he says.

Vik frowns, a huge bite of bread stuffed in her mouth. "Who's feeding Geiszler then?"

Newt still hasn't returned to the mess hall since he brought Mako his EEG report. Hermann is typically the one who comes in to get their meals.

Nate walks in then with one of Jake's arms slung around him. It's the maximum amount of PDA that he'll allow.

"They won't respect me if you keep this up," he'd snapped at Jake once after receiving a sloppy good morning kiss.

"Aw, come on. They never respected you to begin with," Jake had teased back.

Nate huffed. "They _did_. Before you came around."

"Did they though?" Jake had said in a higher voice, wrinkling his nose.

The rangers had run twice as many laps that day _and_ doubled their burpees.

Vik, Amara, and Jinhai shudder as one, feeling the memory echo through the ghost drift.

Meilin frowns. "Should someone check on them?"

"On who?" asks Nate, close enough to hear them now. "Who's missing?" He starts visibly counting the rangers to make sure they're all accounted for. 

"Not us. Dr. Gottlieb," Renata says. "He hasn't come in for meals."

"Oh," Jake says with a wave of his hand. "Caught a flu. Just a little under the weather. Saw him in the medbay by chance last night."

The rangers look at each other with mild concern.

"He's _fine_ ," Jake insists. "Just a flu. It's been going around the dome."

Ryoichi sets down his roll. "Should... someone bring food to Dr. Geiszler?"

Now Nate frowns. "No. He can take care of himself. Worry about staying healthy yourselves."

The rangers nod. 

"Yes, sir," Ryoichi says.

Nate follows Jake to the lunch line, taking the tray he's passed.

"Don't you think someone should make sure Newt's doing okay?"

Nate drops a spoonful of pasta on his plate with vigor. "He's an adult. He can come eat if he wants."

"Mm." 

With a sigh, Nate gives Jake a look. "What? What does that mean?"

"What does what mean?"

"Don't do this. That sigh. You're disappointed with me."

Jake shrugs and grabs three rolls despite Nate's headshake. "I'm not your parent. I'm not going to make you do anything."

"But you think I should be nicer to Geiszler."

Jake pours them each a glass of water. "Just saying. The kids are all warming up to him. And he's trying his best to prove himself again. Maybe give him that second chance." 

"You think he deserves it?"

Jake flattens his mouth and shakes his head. "Don't think that matters."

They stand and stare at each other.

"Just saying," Jake adds. "A second chance worked for me." He smiles and bumps Nate's shoulder. "It worked for us."

Nate regrets letting a hint of a smile slip through when Amara wolf-whistles from the ranger table. The others start making kissy faces, and he shakes his head. "They never treated me this way before you came along."

It's worth it for the way Jake throws his head back with a laugh, and Nate hardly even complains when he spills his cup of water on the way over.

 

* * *

 

"It really wasn't going to be words, right? I didn't insult you when I said word tattoos were bad, did I?" Newt asks. He's holding Hermann's hand, trying to talk with him, but the fever keeps pulling him under, and Newt starts to think he should just let him rest.

"I still... don't understand why... you don't like words," Hermann says in that gravelly sick voice that would be kinda hot if he wasn't also _literally_ hot right now.

"Because art lasts forever. You might regret words a year later. What if there's a typo? You have to live with that."

"You... You can admit you're just indecisive, Newton."

"I'm not indecisive! Except... Hmm. Maybe I am, I don't know."

Hermann raises an I-told-you-so eyebrow.

Newt looks down at where their hands are intertwined. "We should get our wedding bands tattooed on instead."

Hermann hums curiously.

"So I don't lose mine," Newt explains. "And so you can't take yours off for some reason and have hundreds of guys flirt with you everywhere you go."

Hermann scoffs but it turns into a coughing fit, so Newt gets him a drink.

"Have you... Have..."

"Shh. Don't talk."

Hermann's brow furrows. "Have you eaten?"

Newt's constantly bouncing leg stops. "Uh."

"Go. Go eat. I'll still be here when you're done." 

"Right," Newt says, but he stands up anyway. "Right. Go to the mess hall and eat. Okay."

Hermann doesn't reply, already dozing off.

Newt goes to the lab instead.

 

* * *

 

The guilt finally gets to Nate. He hates when Jake ends up being the reasonable one, but it _does_ happen from time to time.

He gets to the mess hall just as it opens for dinner, before any of the rangers are expected to finish their afternoon chores. He loads up a tray with a little bit of everything and heads for the lab. He's so busy trying to think of what to say, that he doesn't register the voices until he's already inside.

Nate finds himself staring at the guilty faces of his rangers and one Dr. Newton Geiszler.

"I _knew_ we were gonna get caught..." Suresh whispers, but Amara just flashes Nate a peace sign.

They're all crowded around the fumigation hood where a long snake of white ash sits.

Newt looks like he's about to be sick. "I know I'm not supposed to touch the lab equipment!" he blurts. "But it's just a little mercury thiocyanate and a lighter."

"It makes a snake," says Ilya.

Nate blinks and sets down the tray of food. "Mercury. Isn't that toxic?"

Newt makes a "duh" face and gestures at the fume hood. 

The rangers all seem terrified, and Newt still hasn't totally relaxed.

"What do you mean it makes a snake?" Nate asks.

They all look at each other.

Newt blinks. "Wanna see?"

With a sigh as if he's been particularly put upon, Nate throws up his hands and walks over. "Why the hell not."

Newt even lets him light one, and the way the rangers cheer and whoop reminds him of the adolescence they never got to have.

 

* * *

 

"Careful," Liwen says. "There's a step." She has her hands firmly over Jules' eyes, leading her through Shao Industries.

Jules is holding both of their wine glasses and Liwen really doesn't want anything spilled or broken.

"What _is_ this surprise?" Jules laughs.

"I thought it would make for a fun project together," Liwen says, hiding her nerves in her matter-of-fact voice. She pulls her hands away. "Surprise."

The tiny jaeger, Scrapper she believes it's called, has definitely seen better days. But that's the joy of a project. Restoring and upgrading.

Jules' face lights up. "Oh my god."

"Top seven floors here are all R&D," says Liwen, taking her wine glass back. "You want it, we either have it or we can make it." She swirls the liquid inside. "We aren't doing much else with our facilities at present."

Jules clinks their glasses together before taking a sip. "Well, I have several ideas that I'd _love_ to discuss _after_."

Liwen smirks. " _After_ it is."

 

* * *

 

Technically, Raleigh knows Geiszler should go to trial, but Mako pulls every string she can tug and cashes in every favor she's owed to get herself permission to determine his fate. She hasn't decided yet, still thinking about what Gottlieb had said in the mess hall about how others might react. Raleigh just knows she wants his help and opinion on the matter. He knows she trusts him, but he's just as lost as she is.

It's keeping him up, and now, as Mako dozes back in their quarters, he goes for a walk to clear his head. It's by chance that he ends up near the mess hall. It should technically be empty. It's late and there's no food being served. But when he peeks in, he sees Geiszler and the young rangers at a table. 

Geiszler is sitting on the top, both his sleeves and pant legs rolled up as high as they can go. "Yeah, and this one is obviously Onibaba. And I've got Otachi on the back of my upper thigh here, but that one's for my fiancé's eyes only." 

"Didn't that hurt?" Suresh asks. 

"Duh," snorts Vik. "Of course it did."

Meilin squints at Trespasser. "Which one hurt the worst?"

"Hmm," Geiszler thinks, "Underarms really sucked. So did the back of my knees and my spine. Actually, the spine sucked more because I was in the chair for eight hours and I couldn't sleep comfortably for like, a month."

"I want tattoos," Vik says. "Maybe not this many."

Newt laughs and starts rolling down his pant legs. "Careful. They can be addicting."

"And probably expensive," sighs Amara.

"Oh definitely. Sunk a lot of hard-earned paychecks into these babies."

"And why... Why kaiju?" Suresh whispers.

Newt is quiet for a long time, just bouncing his legs and staring down at his forearms. Just before Suresh can apologize, he answers. "Because I could. I don't know. It's hard to explain. It's kinda because it took away their power in my head. It's kinda as a memorial, because one kaiju is easier than the faces of all the people who died. It's kinda my personal curiosity and interest in K-Science. It was a spur-of-the-moment impulse... A big 'fuck you' to people who said it was a bad idea... I don't know. It's all of that and none of that." 

Raleigh holds his breath, but they all seem to nod in understanding.

"I think I might want a kaiju someday," says Amara. "Your mega-kaiju." Newt swallows awkwardly, but Amara doesn't seem to care. "I guess not _your_ kaiju. The Precursors'. Whatever. I helped kill it, so if I want it, I can have it."

Newt smiles and gives her a fistbump. "Hell yeah, you can. Killing one is _way_ cooler than dissecting its liver two months later."

"Can I touch one?" Jinhai asks, and Newt shrugs and holds out his arm.

"Sure. It feels like skin. When you guys are all eighteen, if you think of something simple I'll help you set up a nice, sterile stick-and-poke." 

"What? Really?" Ilya asks, shocked.

Newt rolls down his sleeves. "Why not? I helped Mako, you know."

"No way!"

Raleigh knows. He's seen the characters of her parents' names on the curl of her hip. He was with her when she had Marshal Pentecost's name added professionally on the other side.

He leaves the group to talk, wondering if Jake and Ranger Lambert will notice how tired they are in the morning.

Mako is warm when he slides into bed next to her.

"How was your walk?" she asks. 

"Helpful."

"Thinking about Newt some more?" She rolls over to face him, and he can't help but beam at her like he does every time he sees her.

"Yeah."

"And?"

He hesitates. He remembers how negatively he had responded to Newt when they first met. He remembers _his_ response to the tattoos. He also remembers hearing Geiszler and Gottlieb over the jaeger comms, telling him and Mako how to destroy the Breach. "He deserves a second-chance. The teens think he does. So I agree. It's their world he attacked, it's their world they protected, and it's their world they'll inherit. If they can learn to trust him again, so can we." 

Mako smiles, and somehow Raleigh feels that this was her opinion all along, and she's been waiting for him to catch up.

 

* * *

 

Tendo comes out of retirement to be Hermann's best man, and Liwen agrees to be Newt's. 

"I never liked you," she says after she accepts. "But now... When you're yourself... You aren't so bad." Liwen pauses. "Your Mandarin is still absolute shit."

He can't do anything but agree.

Tendo hugs Newt and Hermann until they both gasp for air.

"Looking good, Gottlieb," he says with a laugh. "And of course you too, brother. How's all that empty space in your head treating you?"

"Shit, man. I don't know. How's the gray in your hair treating _you_?"

Tendo laughs. "Touché, Newt. Touché."

The ceremony is small but loud. The younger rangers scream and shout for Newt, and even Jake and Mako whistle and clap when Hermann walks out. Nate gives Newt a thumbs up, and somehow it means just as much.

There are no wedding bands, but everyone knows they have appointments later that afternoon at the Newt-approved parlor a few miles inland.

The young rangers cover each others' eyes when Newt and Hermann kiss, and Jake gives Amara a noogie when she yells, "Gross! Genuine love and affection!"

The two become extra insufferable after the ceremony, but no one can bring themselves to ruin Hermann's soppy, infatuated smile and the look in Newt's enthralled, affectionate eyes.

 

* * *

 

Jake scoops ice cream into two bowls, but he only adds whipped cream and sprinkles to one of them.

"So? What do you think? Ever see marital bliss in your future?" he asks, passing Nate the boring bowl.

"Well, that's a hell of a loaded question."

"Nah, man. Nothing to it. Just curious."

Nate stares into his food. "Ask me again in a year."

Jake grins, ice cream on his lips. "I'll hold you to that."

 

* * *

 

"Okay," Newt says. "That's wrong. Guess again."

Hermann groans and rubs the palms of his hands into his eyes. "Newton, I _hate_ this game."

"No, you don't." 

"A spleen."

"Nope!"

"For the love of— _Newton_. Tell me and get on with it, _please_."

"Geez, calm down, Hermann. It's a lymph-node!"

Frustrated, Hermann reaches up and physically turns Newt's head so he can't look at the preserved lymph-node on his desk anymore. "Newt, if you do not start moving, I'll dissect you myself."

"Ooh... Scientist roleplay. I'm into it. Not that we ever really have vanilla sex. I mean, if you think about it, we're technically always having an orgy—" 

Hermann drags him into a kiss just to shut him up.

**Author's Note:**

> funny how nate won't ask jake out in the movie, but he WILL adopt nine teens with him


End file.
